His obnoxious, self-satisfied gloat ripped through the air, drowning out the crickets and gently rustling leaves. Merle was always louder than necessary.
No, no, no...not like this, not now... Adrenaline pulsed through her. Danni hadn't been afraid of him back at the quarry camp when they'd first met, but presently, she felt queasy fear dripping down her chest and settling into her gut. She had more to lose now. She had everything to lose.
She breathed in deeply despite rising panic and finally turned around to find him leaning in a little too close.
"Back the hell up!" She warned, feeling trapped between him and the car. Anger helped temper the fear and she became determined to stand up to him like any other guy who gave her shit.
"Okay, okay, honey." He stepped away smirking. "Still lookin' good little queenie."
"Fucker." She muttered. Holding her head up, Danni turned her body inward, hands in the sweatshirt's front pockets pushing it away from her stomach trying to make it as baggy and shapeless as possible. So far, he hadn't realized she was pregnant. The oversized sweatshirt seemed to be doing the trick, since the rest of her body hadn't changed dramatically. Besides, he never struck her as the most observant guy.
"Still don't like me much, do you? Well, looks like we got ourselves a second chance to make nice and be friends." He was still talking.
"You made it." Glenn was incredulous; Danni not so much. She stood with her arms crossed glaring at the son of a bitch who just might wreck her life.
Merle had changed since the last time she'd seen him. He looked healthier, clean-shaven and even sober. He wore a new black button-down short-sleeved shirt and khaki cargo trousers. Someone had cleaned him up, but his attitude was as menacing and dirty as ever. He noticed Danni staring at the arm where his hand had once been; strapped to it now was a prosthetic artificial limb complete with bayonet attachment.
"You like that?" He asked waving it proudly.
"Yeah." Glenn managed to get out. Danni didn't answer.
"Well, I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up with my own ingenuity."
"Pretty cool," Glenn said nervously.
Merle stood back with that shit eating grin. "Bet you two never thought you'd see me again, huh? Hell, I never thought you all would make it yourself."
He moved on to the order of business Danni had been expecting.
"Speaking of making it, you seen my brother? He alive?"
Glenn glanced at Danni.
"What you looking at her for? I'm asking you a question. You seen Daryl?"
Danni remained silent, her eyes pleading with Glenn not to say anything about her relationship with Daryl.
"Yeah." Glenn finally answered. "He's okay. He's still part of our group."
"Hell, I knew it. Ya'll take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened back there in Atlanta."
They didn't answer.
"No hard feelings. Huh?"
"We can't do that." She finally spoke. "But we'll go back and tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you."
"Look here queenie, you 'ain't keeping me from my brother. I'm the one holding a gun on you." He waved the automatic pistol in his good hand.
His voice became genial. "No need for all this fussin'. Look at it this way, the fact that we found each other is a miracle."
"Or a curse." She muttered looking up at him. He couldn't have been more than 5' 10" or 11" but he towered over her, the sun behind him elongating his form making him seem ten feet tall. His smile, like his lighter voice, seemed false, just an act to get what he wanted.
"Y'all can trust me. Let's go. I want to see my brother."
"You trust us. You stay here." Glenn countered him.
"Afraid I can't do that Glenn. That's your name, right? Either I'm going with you or you kids are coming with me."
Glenn became stone-faced and stopped talking.
Merle suddenly spun Danni around, grasped the hair at the back of the neck and pushed himself up against her, the muzzle of his gun to her spine. She didn't consider the gun, just panicked and twisted, desperate to turn herself around. She dropped to the ground escaping his hold feeling like he'd torn the hair from her scalp. Once sitting, she tried to kick him. He grabbed her upper arm and yanked her to her feet. He hadn't pulled the trigger during her struggle. She took note.
"Quit playing, this ain't recess! Trying be nice, this is what I get? Let's go." He shoved her forward and Glenn followed having no other choice. Merle had parked his newer model red pickup truck behind the depot office.
"Now get in there both of you or one of you won't have that choice."
"Let go of me!" Danni reached for her knife, but Merle knew exactly what she was doing and beat her to it.
"Still fightin'. Uh, Uh. We are done now." He whispered harshly into her ear.
"Now git in the truck son, or she won't be able to."
Glenn climbed up first. Merle directed him to the driver's seat then pushed Danni in beside him. "There you go, that's better. Now we're gonna go for a little ride."
Merle felt he had scared them sufficiently. He preferred terrifying to actually hurting most people, unless he lost his temper, was high on meth or they truly deserved it. But, that was his secret.
"We're not going back to our camp." Glenn was adamant.
"No, we're going somewhere else. You're driving."
As much as Merle wanted to act immediately on the news that Daryl was alive, he was out there on a mission for his new boss, searching for any survivors and camps to raid. Over the past several months, Merle had met and made himself the right-hand man to a leader who was the very antithesis of Rick. It was ironic that the brothers followed similar, but very different, fated paths. Daryl was to Rick as Merle was to this man who called himself the Governor. The Governor was possessive of the new world and wanted to wipe out every surviving group or community except for his own, a small town called Woodbury. He had managed to keep the hamlet intact, replicating a time before Walkers. Merle had literally stumbled across the place, suffering drug withdrawal and a nasty infection at the site of his improperly amputated hand. The Governor recognized Merle's potential to help him, so provided proper medical attention, sobered him up and offered a quality of life he'd never experienced. The price was to do whatever had to be done. No questions asked. Merle had become a sort of sergeant-at-arms, leading the Governor's group of enforcers; a combination police force and militia. Most of the members had somewhat shady pasts like Merle's own, some criminals others ex-military men.
Merle would bring Glenn and queenie back there. It would be easier to get Daryl's location out of them back home where he could enlist help from his men and use proper interrogation techniques. Once he did, well, these two would be another conquest for his boss. He'd get Daryl and the Governor would get to destroy the Atlanta group who'd wronged him. Win win, he thought.
... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .
Glenn, tied to a wooden chair in a dim basement room, finally broke down. "Look, Danni is Daryl's girlfriend. Wife, I mean."
He realized that Merle was not fooling around and wanted the prison's location at all costs. Not just for Daryl; there was more to it. Glenn's eye was swollen shut and his mouth was bleeding from Merle's first few "questions".
Merle had separated Danni and Glenn. He had his subordinates, basically thugs and ex-military guys questioning her in an adjoining room. He figured they could have some fun with her if they wanted. Any woman who wasn't a citizen of Woodbury was up for grabs with his guys. Merle took Glenn more seriously. Sure he was a just a Chinese kid, but he was a guy. Queenie was only a woman, another stupid bitch who was expendable in Merle's mind. Until he heard what Glenn had said about Daryl.
"That true? My brother and little queenie in there? You bullshitting me son?"
"Look they're together okay?" Glenn said hoping that would be a bargaining tool with Merle. "She'll get him. He'll come back for Danni, he will. Let her go."
"If you're tryin to put one over on me..."
Glenn shook his head, tasting blood. "I swear, it's true. They've been together a long time now, so... "
But Merle was already through the sliding steel door to where the others had taken Danni.
"Sorry to bust up the party boys," He shouted "But this one's mine."
The guy holding Danni complained "But we didn't even get started. Shit Merle, wait your turn."
She pushed her knee up as hard as she could while he was distracted by Merle. These men reminded her of Dave and Tony's guys. She swore she recognized a few. Bruisers, bikers, ex-cops, and soldiers.
"Stupid bitch!" He fell back away from her hardly believing the amount of pain her jab to his balls caused. It had been a while since she'd had to do that.
"Yeah, she's too much for you already!" Merle laughed genuinely amused by her feisty move. He walked over and pulled her roughly by one arm, slamming her back against the wall.
"Watch it, I'm pregnant, you idiot!" She hissed. Merle's eyes widened.
He looked around to make sure all the men were watching him. "There's a lot more women back wherever she and that Chinese kid come from. As soon as you get that out of him, you won't have to be taking turns. Maybe a couple of you oughta get on that. I'm takin' five right now.'
As he pushed himself up against her, Danni struggled. "Get off!"
"That's it keep fighting! Makes me more excited. My brother's little whore, huh? Well, what's his is mine."
Glenn told him? No…no...no... Danni thought, not wanting her relationship with Daryl making her more vulnerable to Merle.
He squeezed her arm hard, put his face close to hers and whispered, "I ain't gonna hurt you. Just follow my lead. When I let you up hit me hard across the face."
No problem, she thought.
"Oh you're gonna wish you never did that" His voice was menacing. He turned to the others. "Y'all leave now. You may be some hard men, but you don't got the stomach for what I got planned next."
Knowing his reputation, the small group headed out. Only one turned back with a look of concern and disgust on his face. "Is she really your brother's girl? You're sick man."
He closed the door leaving Merle and Danni alone. As Merle stepped away from her, she felt the room shift and suddenly become too bright. She squinted, and a quick wave of dizzying déjà vu passed through her. Danni was back in her dream, its detail intensified; the situation was darker and full of animosity; Merle surly and confrontational.
"So my brother and little queenie here huh? Well, don't that just beat all ya ever stepped in." He snorted.
"Glenn tell you?" Danni asked as if reading a script, but from a tragedy, not a comedy. She thought of denying it but knew she and Merle were destined to come to this moment.
"Can't believe Daryl's make a move on you darlin'." Merle guffawed loudly. "Bet he had a hard on for you since that day at the lake, way back when. Remember he busted up our little game?"
He waited for her to nod then continued. "That what it was? He shoulda gone for that sweet little blonde thing, but I wasn't there to give my brotherly advice." He paused giving her a long once over. "So it was you, eh? Baby brother's always been a little different."
Danni rolled her eyes. He caught it.
"You know I'm the only thing standing between you and some pretty hard ass men on the other side of that door right? Part of me don't even know why. "
When it finally became clear what he was doing, and that he'd saved her from a brutal gang rape and possibly torture, Danni looked at him. "Thanks, Merle, I..."
"I ain't doin' this for you queenie. I'm doing it for Daryl. Get that straight right now."
He pushed her against the wall again. "Never liked you much, a little too high and mighty for your own good. But...if you really with my brother I ain't gonna let anybody else hurt ya."
What did he mean by anybody else? She wondered.
"Watch it I told you I'm pregnant!"
Merle stepped back. "Yeah, you said that. It true?"
She pulled the fabric of the sweatshirt tightly around her showing her shape.
Under his breath, he said, "Damn Daryl you stupid son of a bitch." After a pause, he asked, "Is it his?"
"What? Of course."
"I don't know you. I'm just 'sposed to take your word on that? Oldest game in the world darlin', trapping a dumb s.o.b. like Daryl."
"You asshole. It's his." She said again. "And it's twins,"
Merle did a double take. "Well he's prolific I guess. Late bloomers always are. Stupid son of a bitch." he said again. "Didn't I teach that worthless boy nothin'? And you damn woman, ain't you 'sposed to be on the pill or somethin'? Dumb bitch let it happen."
"That's real nice, about what I'd expect from you for Daryl." Then to further compete she added, "We've been together since right after you...well the whole roof thing. I love him and he loves me." She said it defiantly, almost a dare.
"You his first ain't ya?"
"None of your business."
"Yeah, you are." he sighed. That's what this is all about. Daryl attached himself to her like some infatuated teenager. That boy gets too damn emotional.
"Lovesick puppy dog. Well, Ol Merle is back to fix things now." He laughed that mean laugh again.
"Fuck you."
His eyes became dark and angry as they bore into her.
"Why are you doing this for Daryl? You don't like the idea of me with him, do you?"
He shrugged. "I don't, but family problems stay in the family. That's the Dixon way darlin'. "
Problem? She didn't like the way he said the word.
"Enough chit chatting." He debated his next move. Finding out queenie was involved with Daryl changed everything. She would bring him to his brother, he'd take care of this mess with her, then he and Daryl would leave. The Governor would find the Atlanta group eventually with or without Merle. Merle had only been in Woodbury biding time until he found Daryl anyway. It was a good gig, but he'd always planned they'd take off and be on their own. Just the two of them like it had always been.
Merle took another look at Danni, shook his head and sighed. She was a girl you maybe had a wild time with, but that was it. Daryl stupid? Merle didn't consider any woman worth gettin' tied down to. Have your fun then get the hell out. Hadn't Daryl paid any attention? He was screwing up what was left of his life. It was time for Merle to get back in there and set it right. Get back to where they were before they ever met that sorry Atlanta group.
"If I'm gonna get you out of here we gotta make this look good. I ain't gonna hurt you much. And not..." He looked down at her stomach covered by the oversized sweatshirt. "Don't worry 'bout that, I ain't a savage."
She understood, remembering her dream and nodded. "Okay hit me." She tilted her face up.
He struck that blow to the lower side of her face, his knuckles cutting her lips, leaving angry red abrasions on her cheek. He repeated it on the other side.
"Sorry honey, had to mess you up some. Not those pretty eyes though". Bet Daryl likes those eyes. "When we leave here they need to think your half dead. The man I'm protecting you from makes me look like a pussy cat."
She shook her head and got her bearings, the taste of blood filling her mouth. She spat out red saliva.
"My turn?"
"Hell yeah, darlin' take your best shot. Be good if you leave some scratches too. "
No problem. Danni thought. No problem at all.
Merle pushed her through the door and twisted her arm behind her back, holding it there immobilizing her at his side. She was bleeding from her swollen mouth and a bruise was forming on her cheekbone.
"Well, what you get out of the kid in there?"
"Nothing. He won't give anything up."
"What are you doing with her?'
"Taking her to see the governor. You keep working on that kid til I tell you otherwise."
Merle led Danni out the side door of the building, toward a barricade protecting the town from the woods. She turned her head and noticed in the distance, a town square with a Main Street, past the warehouse she'd just come from. He was pulling her in the opposite direction.
"Hey, where are you taking me?
"You're taking me, honey. Taking me to Daryl."
"Not without Glenn I'm not."
"Too dangerous to go back for him now, once they realize you and me are gone, they're gonna have an APB out."
Danni stopped. "I won't do it. I won't take you to him unless you get Glenn."
"Told you too dangerous. Move."
"I can't leave him here!"
"Sorry queenie but I don't care about Glenn, only care about Daryl."
Danni refused to move. "Fine, but If I lead you to Daryl you take him back for Glenn. Him and Rick."
"Officer Rick huh? He still in the picture?"
Danni ignored him. "Your word, you'll take them back for Glenn or I'm not moving."
Merle was frustrated. "This what my brother likes about you? Being so stubborn? Well, I don't like it much."
He pushed her forward with the gun. Now get going. Wasted enough time."
"You won't kill me."
"You so sure 'bout that?" He said it menacingly.
"You wouldn't do that to Daryl. Whether you like it or not he loves me."
"If he knew I did it. Who'd tell him? I sure wouldn't. You really want to take a chance? To be honest I'd prefer getting Daryl back unattached."
"You can't find him without me."
"Well you'd get me close enough, then I'd take care of you so Daryl and me would be free of you and your complications. Who'd ever know you and I ever crossed paths again? And your poor boy Glenn there, never be heard from again. It's up to you. "
She considered it.
"I'm offering a good deal here, take me to Daryl, you live and your rugrats live."
He shoved her hard. She repeated, "Glenn. Your word."
"Fine. We'll go back for the Chinese kid."
"He's Korean."
"Whatever!" Merle said as he tied her hands behind her back.
"Now shut up and move."
He'd lead her back to the depot where he'd found her. She knew her way home from there.
She'd dreamt about this twice. She knew she was supposed to take him back no matter how worried she was.
A snarling Walker came up behind them.
"May I?" He held up Danni's knife. She didn't answer.
"I'll take that as a yes."
He approached and drove the blade up into the back of its skill. When he walked back, he said. "I figured you woulda' run."
"I want my knife back before I get away. I'm real sentimental about it."
"Move." He said putting it back in his pocket
After trudging through the woods for a while, the only sound leaves and twigs crunching beneath their feet Danni started talking, the way she always did. She couldn't help herself.
"Why'd you leave him? He needed you."
Merle dismissed her. "Did I say you could talk to me?"
"You are the oldest you were supposed to be there. "
"Keep walking queenie and shut up, you got tongue enough for ten rows of teeth."
"I know, that's what Daryl always says to me."
"Boy always was different." Merle shook his head. "Don't know what he sees in you. Just bein' honest. No offense. Can't see it."
She shrugged. "None of your business anyway."
"My family's my business."
"Really? Then where were you? Huh?"
Merle glared, but Danni saw a flash of pain pass quickly.
"What you know about it? What you gettin' at girlie?"
"I saw the scars, he told me about you taking off all the time."
Scars? How bad? Merle wanted to ask her.
"Don't know what Daryl told you, but I raised his sorry ass. He wouldn't be here if weren't for me."
"You believe that?"
"I don't much like where you wanna go with this. You best shut that motor mouth of yours, hear? Beatin' a dead horse don't make it taste better."
"You're the oldest. You should have been there. All the time."
"What you know about it?"
"I'm the oldest too." She said, her tone dejected. "I was there. Except for the end. I was gone just long enough to lose her, my baby sister. "
Merle didn't say anything.
"It got so bad I couldn't stay, but I found us a place to go. When I went back to her, the ambulance was outside the house. She was thirteen, no twelve. I never got to say goodbye." Danni's voice switched from pained to angry in seconds. "You don't even realize how lucky you are. You didn't lose Daryl."
She stopped walking and glared hard at Merle. "So stop treating him like shit and tearing him down all the time. And don't mess with his head anymore. He's changed. I'm his family now too. I'm not going anywhere. I won't run out on him."
"You haven't changed, still full of yourself. You don't know nothing about me and Daryl." Merle snapped angrily.
And she didn't.
Merle had stayed and protected Daryl as long as he could. Danni would be shocked to know she and Merle were a lot more alike than she realized. They both felt they'd let down the only person in their lives they loved. Both got caught up in self-destruction to try to forget but couldn't block out the sad eyes of their younger siblings pleading: 'don't go, don't leave me.' They had the same nightmare of pained, young haunting faces. Looking at each other now it was tragic that Danni and Merle couldn't see their reflections mirrored in the other's eyes. They had both spent their lives running from exactly the same thing. Danni was wrong about Merle, he had tried just like she had tried. They shared misplaced guilt for being just kids themselves. Merle and Danni had shared too heavy a burden for small shoulders.
When he'd heard the old man shouting his name from inside the house, Merle wanted to run, just take off into the woods. His morbid curiosity got the best of him, however, and he found himself peering in the window. He wanted to see how drunk the bastard was, what he was gonna use for his weapon this time, the belt, a chair leg, empty bottle? His gut clenched when the old man stopped in front of Daryl. Six-year-old Daryl just looked up not realizing the evil yet. Merle wanted to run, but all he could think of was Daryl. He watched himself as if from above as he charged back in the house and tackled his father to the floor shouting at his little brother to get to their room and stay there. He could see Daryl's face, peering out the cracked bedroom door watching their dad's fists pummel Merle. When he took the belt from its loops, Merle braced himself strengthened by the thought that at least it was him and not Daryl. Daryl was okay.
It went on that way until finally it was too much. He'd stayed and protected Daryl for ten years. What the fuck did that black-haired bitch know? If he spent one more damn day in that house, spent one more minute at the hands of his old man he'd do something he'd regret. Then where would Daryl be?
Queenie didn't know shit. He loved Daryl. Loved his little brother more than anything in the whole damn world. He tried to toughen him up, make a man of him because he knew he couldn't stay forever and Daryl was gonna have to stand up for himself. It started when Merle was in and out of juvie and Daryl needed to learn to take care of himself, like a man.
"Don't go. What did I do? Why are you leaving me?"
Daryl's voice had echoed in Merle's head the way Tara's did in Danni's. No matter how much Merle and Danni drank or what drugs they took the voices never went away. "Don't leave me. Why are you going?"
Merle had to run. If he stayed, he'd do something he'd regret. He'd kill the son of a bitch and that's exactly what the old man wanted. Ruin Merle' s life once and for all. He'd be no better than the father he hated. So he had to leave, even if it meant he was leaving behind the only person he ever loved.
Merle swore he was never gonna be his old man. No matter how far he had to run from him. Danni was never going to be like her mother, no matter how far she had to run from her.
He had to get away from his father, from his brother. The way Danni had to get away from her mother and the memory of her sister.
He never touched Tara, not while I was there. It may have been me but at least I protected her. Danni tried to comfort herself with that thought for years. Merle said the same thing. He could have replaced Tara with Daryl.
Because neither Danni nor Merle knew the truth about each other they feared the other; both terrified of losing Daryl. Too stubborn to realize it, they were setting Daryl up to make a painful, unnecessary choice.
"Don't mess with me, queenie. Hear? Daryl's blood."
"Yeah, whatever." Try me. Just try me. "Blood isn't always enough."
Merle didn't answer.
... .. .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .
"She's not here? Dammit. She went to stop me." Daryl knew it. "Shit, thought I'd be back before she woke up." Stupid, dangerous shit, why does she always do this to me?
"Glenn's with her." Maggie explained. "They took my car."
"So where would she go?" Stephen asked.
"She knew about the depot, she was there when we talked about it." Rick reminded Daryl.
He nodded trying to stay calm. "Couldn't have gotten too far by now."
"Maybe you'll catch them on their way back." Maggie interjected hopefully.
"I'm coming." Rick stated. "Stephen and T-Dog can handle things here." Rick was putting Stephen to work. If he was staying, he was earning it.
"Nah, be fine. I need to do this myself." He knew he needed to talk to Danni. He was pissed, but he knew she was too. Ultimately he knew the whole thing was his fault.
... .. .. . ... .. .. . .. .. .. .. .
"I can't walk any farther. Merle you need to find a car." Danni complained, feeling faint and light-headed.
"I don't need to do a damn thing."
Danni looked down at her feet in the Converse sneakers and started laughing. She laughed loud and hard until tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. This was the first day she hadn't worn her boots since Daryl had given them to her. The first day without them and these sneakers were useless for this long walk through the woods.
"You having a fit or something?" Merle asked.
She kept laughing. Those shoes ain't gonna do shit for you out here. She heard Daryl's voice. Useless pieces of crap, he'd said.
"Shut up and move, this ain't funny."
"It is, don't you get it? This whole thing is hilarious."
Merle scowled.
"My shoes...Daryl hates these shoes. And I'm walking in the damn woods in these shoes, he would be so pissed...and I'm fucking pregnant and you...you..." she couldn't breath for laughing.
"I'm what?"
"You're my fucking brother-in-law!" She doubled over laughing so hard she started crying. "And... and...we hate each other!"
She continued to laugh and Merle had to catch her and stop her from losing her balance as her hands were still tied.
"Jesus you might be more trouble than your worth. Batshit crazy is what you are."
Danni was exhausted; her feet hurt, her back was aching and she was feeling dizzy, but she couldn't stop laughing.
Finally, she calmed down.
"Seriously Merle we need to stay on the road and find a car. I can't walk anymore."
"We almost back to where I picked you up. You got a car there right?"
"Okay, a little more." She agreed but was starting to worry when she felt some cramping. Still she wouldn't show him weakness. "Fine a little more. I'm okay." She took a deep breath putting the pain out of her mind. She just wanted to get back to Daryl. She looked down at her Converse and missed him. Needed him.
... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
"Danni! Glenn!"
Nothing.
Panic started to rise is Daryl's chest when he saw Maggie's car parked by the small brick building next to the train tracks. Glenn and Danni had come here as he'd thought, but where the fuck were they? He got off the bike and immediately searched the ground for tracks. He recalled other times he'd tracked her, he'd always found her bandana on the ground. He longed to see the faded red and white cloth now, but he didn't; not this time. He stood up and suddenly did glimpse a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. Daryl thought he saw one of those desert mirage things when Merle emerged from the woods pushing Danni in front of him, bandana on her head. He literally rubbed is eyes and shook his head. Nope. They were still there.
"Hey Hey, little brother!" Merle called out. "Just on my way to find ya."
"Merle?" Was all Daryl could manage to say stepping toward them.
Danni looked up and met Daryl's confused eyes, then collapsed from pain and exhaustion between the two brothers.
"Shit!" Daryl rushed forward. "What'd you do?" He spotted Danni's bruised cheek and swollen mouth before she fell. "Why she tied up? Merle?"
"Me? Didn't do nothing."
Daryl was on his knees beside her, holding her face. "She 's pregnant, how far you march her? Jesus Merle!" He untied her wrists.
"She didn't complain, said she was fine."
"Course she did you damned son of a bitch! Wouldn't expect you to understand or think about anybody but yourself. If anything happens to her or..." he couldn't say the babies. "An' you hit her? You did didn't you? You ever touch her again I'll..."
"You'll what?" Merle scoffed at him. "Well, little brother you sure have grown a pair. Talking to me like that. You don't even seem all that happy to see me."
Suddenly a physical reaction took over and Daryl fell back into his old response mode.
"It's not like that Merle it's just..."
"Daryl, she ain't worth gettin' your panties in a twist over. Just a woman, shit what happened to you? She got you acting like a little bitch. Don't you even wanna know how I been, what I've been doin' all this time? Hell, weren't you even out looking for me no more?"
Daryl looked ashamed for a second. "I went back for you. Me and Rick. You shoulda' waited."
"You still palling around with officer friendly huh? And this bitch here." He nodded down to Danni.
"What happened to you little brother? What is it? You forgettin' bout your family? About blood?"
Daryl didn't answer.
"That's more like it."
"You coulda been easy on her that's all." Daryl held Danni's head feeling helpless.
"Pregnant women been working fields for years. They used to pop a squat in the field, push the nugget out, then keep on workin'. She's fine. Just give her a kick in that stuck up ass of hers and get her goin' back up on her feet. We got a lot of catching up to do."
Daryl ignored him, focusing on Danni, trying to wake her.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, not the side of your head boy!"
"Shut up!."
Merle hid his surprise at Daryl's reaction. He didn't like how he was acting over this girl. He was jealous.
"What I always tell ya? Don't name a pig you plan to eat." Merle stated.
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me, you're too attached to this one. I understand she's your first so you all in looove," he mocked. Then added, "but face it, she don't belong with you, with us. Not our kind. Can't believe you was stupid enough to git her knocked up. Jesus Daryl, fucking stupid. Good thing I'm back to clean up your mess. Again. We'll just say it ain't yours, who's gonna believe her..."
"You son of a bitch." Daryl stood up then and took a hard swing at Merle.
"Watch it brother." Merle caught his arm, but Daryl managed to tackle him. "You don't' know what the hell you're talking about!" They tussled for a minute, then Daryl got back on his feet grimacing at Merle. He'd been waiting for this day for a year, hoping to find Merle again not once thinking that Danni would make a difference. Maybe he'd been wrong. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Daryl.."
He heard her and crouched back down.
"Hey, you okay?"
"It hurts, real bad. " She said as the cramps assaulted her. She gasped as one tore through her. "Glenn, they have Glenn. You have to get him. Merle promised."
Daryl realized he was wasting time. Danni needed to see Herschel.
"Okay, okay c'mon, I got ya." He pulled Danni up and carried her over to Maggie's car, laying her in the back seat. "Glenn...'," she said again and passed out.
Merle stood back shaking his head.
Daryl glared at him; he'd never change. He threw him the key to the motorcycle. "Follow me if you're coming." Was all he said and got in the car.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .
"What's wrong, why is she still out?" Daryl nervously asked Herschel.
Danni was still unconscious laying on Carol's bunk.
"She collapsed from exhaustion, I'd guess. How far did she walk?"
Daryl shook his head. "I'll find out." His eyes threw daggers at Merle who looked disinterested in the whole thing. He was sitting on the bottom step to the second floor, Stephen and T-Dog on either side, watching him at gunpoint.
"She's got a fever, and she's dehydrated. Blood sugar may have dropped too. I wish we could get her some IV fluids. Got to get something in her. "
"What about the ...she said somethin' hurt."
Daryl didn't have to finish, Herschel shook his head. "No way to tell exactly, but they seem to be fine, no bleeding. Thought I felt some healthy movement in there. Kicking. Her pain could have been from straining ligaments, that's all. I'm more concerned about Danni right now. If I don't get her fever down, it could affect them eventually."
Daryl glared back at Merle, who just grimaced and shrugged.
Merle sighed dramatically, taking in his surroundings. Rick really knew how to dig into him, having T-Dog hold a gun on him. The guy who lost the key that made him lose his hand. And this other guy, new, not from Atlanta. He looked white enough, but his Mr 8 Mile act disgusted Merle.
"Boy, can't tell if you a cracker or a coon, actin' all incognegro." Merle commented, interrupting Stephen and T Dog's conversation.
"I ain't your boy, peckerwood." Stephen answered.
"You a disgrace to your race boy."
"Hey Johnny Reb, you a little tense? What we keeping you from a sheep dip or something." Stephen shot back.
"Don't mess with me you slim shady son of a bitch.'
"Watch it, that's my moms you talking about Gomer." Stephen kept his voice light and sarcastic, almost enjoying this kind of banter. He had a knack for it.
"Hey man, he's not worth it." T-Dog interrupted.
"What he meant to say was don't start something you can't finish boy." Merle got the last word.
... ... ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .
"Aint supposed to go outside of the fence." She warned, pushing the black bangs off of her crystalline blue eyes wide with apprehension.
"Aint 'sposed to say ain't. Don't let ma hear you." The boy dismissed his sister's warning. He had brown hair, more like his dad. He shook it off of his face as he worked on the loose wire.
Scout grimaced. "Don't go. Daddy'll be mad."
"You're not telling him."
"But..."
"I swear you act more like a girl all the time. Come or don't come, but keep quiet 'bout it. Daddy never whipped me since I can remember and I aim to keep it that way." Ryder told her. "So just be quiet."
"I'm coming." Scout said defiantly. "I'm no girl." She put her little hands on her non-existent hips.
He pulled the chicken wire up from the ground enough so she could slide under to the opposite side of the rail fence. He then pushed himself through. The two children headed to the woods looking for the dog Ryder had seen earlier that morning. He'd wanted a dog since he could remember. A dog like Fionn's hounds in all his ma's stories. This dog had been friendly, lingering by their fence, enjoying some scraps and head pats. Then he'd taken off into the trees.
...
"What do we do? How do we handle this?" Danni asked Daryl when he'd brought the kids back and sent them to their rooms. As soon as she'd noticed they were not in the house or yard, she sent Daryl out. They were easy to track and he found them right away. He kept a stern face and was silent during the walk home. Ryder seemed less bothered by his father's stance than Scout. Every time she looked up, her tiny face tight with worry, she waited for her daddy to look down and wink at her but he didn't. That bothered her most of all.
Daryl found it difficult not to give his little girl a comforting wink, but Danni said he was too easy on the kids especially Scout.
"What? " Danni asked again. Daryl looked serious knowing he expected something from him. "Well, we ain't gonna whip 'em over it." He started laughing, She couldn't believe he said it even as a joke. He was laughing harder than she'd ever seen him in all the nine years she'd known him. It was inappropriate and in the worst taste, but his laughter was so real she had to join him. It meant they'd won.
She hugged him and he said "We'll talk to them. They didn't mean nothing by it."
"But it's dangerous. They need to know they can't be out there alone, there's still..."
"Its okay, I'll talk to 'em."
"They listen to you more than me you, know that right?"
He nodded and smiled
"It was so much easier when they were younger." Danni sighed. "Can we send them back?"
"Too late now."
They started laughing again.
"Why are they laughing?" Scout whispered to Ryder as they sat at the top the stairs trying to hear what their punishment would be.
"Don't know."
"Aint they mad?"
"Don't say ain't and I told you I don't know."
She opened her eyes and saw Daryl sitting, hunched over beside her, his eyes far away. As the last of the dream faded, she touched her stomach. You're here. She looked around and realized she was in Carol's bed, back home. She felt better, the pain had stopped.
"You are a mess you know."
She startled him, but he managed a calm sarcastic, "Thanks.
"No, really, you're dirty, exhausted and you look so worn out." She reached a hand up to his face, touching his pronounced sharpened cheekbones, tracing the deep dark circles beneath his eyes. He shyly moved his face from her fingertips. "Hey...c'mon." He softly protested as she pushed the limp strands of hair across his fore head. "When's the last time you even washed your hair?" She asked.
"Stop making it about me. Are you okay? Scared the shit out of me, taking off like that..."
"I'm sorry, but you didn't even talk to me; you just took Stephen and..."
"He's here. Didn't do it okay? Jesus."
"You didn't...he's staying?"
He nodded sheepishly. "Don't ask me to like him. I won't. But you...you just leaving like that. Look what happened, you coulda' hurt yourself... them." He touched her stomach, then lay his head gently on it as she stroked his hair. "Got Glenn in a real mess too. Can't do stuff like that Danni."
"I don't want to talk about it right now, okay? I need you." She pulled his head up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned in encircling her in his own holding her against him.
"Am I losing you?" She asked into his ear. "Merle hates me, you know."
"Hell you mean?" He asked with a snort. He figured she was still a little out of it. "Stop talking crazy. You don't know him."
But I do, that's the problem.
After a few minutes, he added "We'll talk about him later. I don't even know what happened out there with you two, but I gotta go now. Goin' after Glenn. Just wanted to make sure you were okay first."
She hugged him tighter. "Don't. Let Rick do it, please stay with me." She knew it was ridiculous, but she said it anyway.
"You know I can't. Don't ask me."
She placed her hand under his shirt and pressed her palm against his stomach making him suck in a sharp breath. "Not fair." He managed to groan as her fingers slid beneath his belt.
"Neither is this." She cupped the side of his face with her other hand and drew him in for a soft kiss. He kept his lips gentle on her swollen, bruised ones, but she didn't care about the pain and turned the kiss urgent and open-mouthed. He took her breath and she took his tongue. He was starting to reach a point of no return. Never thought I'd say this "Get your damn hand out of my pants," he said into her mouth. She shook her head.
He pulled back regretfully. "Look, I gotta..."
She nodded into his chest. "Go. I know you have to go." She sighed. "You're such a tease."
'Yeah."
"Hurry so you can get back here and give me hell for leaving today okay? Any way you want, I deserve it. You owe me." It was easier to taunt him like this than admit how worried she was. This whole thing was her fault. He was going back to that place, risking his life and it was all her fault. Come back, just come back.
He stood and exited the cell backward, giving her a small smile within a long look.
Merle had been watching his brother's little 'display' with mixed emotions. When he noticed Stephen start to shift uncomfortably and turn away from the cell, he took an interest.
"You got this?" Stephen asked T-Dog and gestured at Merle. "Not feeling it right now..."
"Yeah, go ahead." T-Dog answered knowing that as cool as Stephen was, seeing Danni like that with Daryl was difficult.
"What's up with your friend slim shady there?"
T-Dog didn't answer.
"Something up with him and queenie? He didn't seem too comfortable with that little goodbye in there. Get a room, huh?"
"Danni 's his ex."
"Really? Well, what do you know about that..." Merle got a little excited at the thought of some ammunition.
When Daryl emerged from the open cell door, he saw Merle giving him a look of pity or was it disgust? Daryl couldn't tell which. So he'd heard and seen them; so what? Merle hates me, Danni had said.
Daryl just winced and shook his head. "Rick talk to you?"
T-Dog left the brothers sensing the heavy tension.
"Yeah, he did. Just waiting for you to get out here. Quite a little show. Makes me wonder... you even possess a pair of balls little brother? They even attached? I mean if they are, they belong to you? Maybe you ain't up for something like this. Oughta stay home play pussy whipped bitch with your little girlfriend. Let the men handle this."
Daryl shook his head. "What 's your problem, man? C'mon, Rick and them are outside." Daryl headed for the door, wanting to avoid a confrontation with Merle.
"Don't like seein' what I'm seein." Merle continued baiting him as they walked. "All them years I spent trying to teach you to be a man and this how you turned out? Pathetic. Waste of my time is what you are. She's walking all over you."
Daryl's expression hardened. He initially registered pain at Merle's ridicule, but anger took over. "Don't talk about her. None of your business. And you taught me shit; weren't around to teach me nothing. Danni's here for me."
"You aim to tell me that piece of ass means more to you than I do? Your own flesh and blood? She's one of them that left me for dead and made me lose my damn hand."
"Man, I went back for you. You weren't there. I didn't cut off your hand, neither. You did that. Way before they locked you up on that roof. You asked for it."
"You know...you know what's funny to me? You and Sheriff Rick are like this now." Merle crossed his fingers. "You and that black-haired bitch too. Right?" He leaned in close speaking quietly. "Well, I bet you a penny and a fiddle of gold that you never told them that we were planning on robbing that camp blind."
"It didn't happen." Daryl looked down.
"Yeah, it didn't 'cause I wasn't there to help you."
"What, like when we were kids, huh? Weren't there to help me then neither! Danni's here for me like you never was."
"Huh? Is that why I lost my hand? You trying to get back at me or somethin'?"
"You lost your hand 'cause you're a simple-minded piece of shit!"
Merle stepped forward and raised his fist causing Daryl to flinch and move back holding his arms up protectively over his face.
Merle stepped back, shocked at Daryl's reaction. "Hey, I..."
Daryl immediately straightened up looking ashamed.
"I...I didn't know he was...queenie said somethin' bout scars, I didn't know he..."
"Yeah, he did." Daryl's voice broke slightly with emotion. "He did the same to you. That's why you left first."
"I had to, man. I would have killed him otherwise."
Daryl looked at his brother wanting to understand.
"I'm on your side, always been on your side." Merle countered.
"C'mon, Rick's waiting."
"No. You and me, we're getting out of here."
"What?"
"You heard me. Time to get back to how things is 'sposed to be."
"I'm going to get Glenn. And you're coming."
"You helping people out of the goodness of your heart? Even though you might die doing it? Is that something your new pal Sheriff Rick taught you?"
"Rick's done alright by me. Glenn too. And if you think I'd leave Danni..."
"What happened to you?" Merle interrupted him with disdain but followed Daryl outside. There'd be time to talk about this later.
... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
"Look Daryl, I hate to pull you away from Danni now...I know..."
"Nothing I can do here anyway." He felt Merle staring at him. The sun was lowering in the west as Rick gathered T-Dog, Stephen, Daryl and Merle to head off to rescue Glenn.
"Good. I need you out there."
Daryl nodded so Rick added "When it's done we have to talk about your brother you know that right?" Rick said quietly so only Daryl heard.
"Yeah, I know." Daryl said wearily as his inner battle raged again. As much as he was angry at Merle he was glad to have him back. But why? He'd almost gotten Danni killed, he was tearing her down and ridiculing Daryl for their relationship. Daryl found it harder to just take the insults and put-downs. Still, he was his brother. He'd been hoping to find him alive for the past year. As soon as Danni was okay things would settle down and they would start getting along. It just took time to get used to Merle, that's all. Once Merle understood how things were between him and Danni and the group, everything would work out; they'd all come around. Merle would do right. Daryl would make him. He just wanted his brother back.
Before they headed out Stephen approached Daryl.
"If you want to stay with her, I got this."
Daryl shook his head, actually respecting this guy for his willingness to risk his life for Glenn, someone he hardly knew but bristled in spite of himself. He didn't like the personal interaction Stephen initiated. "If my brother's right about this place we're gonna need every one of us."
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... .
"You awake?" Stephen stood in the doorway to Carol's cell. Danni was staring at the ceiling trying not to worry about Daryl, Glenn, the Merle thing. So far, it wasn't working.
She sat up."Yeah. I thought you'd be gone after Glenn by now."
"In a minute. Didn't get a chance to tell you I'm glad you're okay."
She smiled. "No thanks to you. It's your fault I went out there."
He took her smile as permission to approach and sat on the bed beside her.
"I was trying to save your sorry ass." She hit his arm.
"Can't blame you, it's an ass worth saving."
"Seriously, I'm glad you're here. I knew Daryl would come around."
"Yeah, we're not exactly BFFs but I'll take it."
"Want a tip?" She asked, "It's that mouth of yours. You don't have to say every single thought that runs through your head."
"That's what you love about me, don't deny it."
"I missed you. I missed how you make laugh and all the stupid shit you say."
He nodded. "I missed you too Danni. Really did."
Without thinking, she hugged him and he stroked her hair instinctively. Suddenly she felt awkward, it was too much. "Sorry," she apologized and pulled back blushing. "Sorry." I'm over thinking it.
Stephen reacted similarly. He coughed. "Yeah sorry, so..okay..." He stood up quickly. Not cool.
"You better go. Rick'll be pissed if you make him wait."
"You know it. Later."
No reason to feel guilty. We're friends. We have a history. She felt comforted to have an old friend around again. That was all.
Carol had been passing by and noticed their closeness. She wondered about the hug, but only for a second; she knew how much Danni loved Daryl.
... ... ... ... .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .
It was dusk about an hour after the men had left. Danni was on mandatory bed rest, ordered by Herschel. He'd insisted she stay in Carol's cell downstairs, closer to him if she needed anything. She had fallen asleep wanting to go back to the dream she'd had earlier. It had been a good one.
Sophia tapped Danni on the shoulder waking her.
"Hey bug, what's up?"
Sophia looked worried as she sat beside Danni. "I had a bad dream. I mean, I was awake, but I felt like I was having a dream."
"Okay, what was it about?"
"I think Daryl is in trouble."
"What?"
"Something bad is happening to Daryl. He can't see. He's tied up and he can't see anything."
Danni's heart raced and true panic set in. "What?" If Daryl was in danger, it was all her fault.